Memeorandum

April 26, 2019

If You Lack For Worries

Bret Stephens argues we are overspending on a military preparing to fight the last war. He's probably right and we can only hope the future does not prove it.

Left unmentioned - the next Democratic Presidential nominee will have no trouble finding places to cut the defense budget. Sensible investments in our defense? There is a bipartisan blind spot when it comes to reform and re-direction:

So what stops it? The answer is what Brose’s old boss, the late John McCain, called the military-industrial-congressional complex.

“Military pilots and ship drivers are no more eager to lose their jobs to intelligent machines than factory workers are,” Brose writes. “Defense companies that make billions selling traditional systems are as welcoming of disruptions to their business model as the taxi cab industry has been of Uber and Lyft. And as all this resistance inevitably translates into disgruntled constituents, members of Congress will have enormous incentives to stymie change.”

When the top brass rose through the ranks aspiring to lead a carrier fleet it is harder to find someone pounding the table for unmanned drones. OK, that is an example of a weapon that has literally and figuratively taken off, but still - unmanned boats and subs ought to be off the drawing boards by now.

Comments

Yes, KK - you'd have to go back to the multi-track master and console for that. Interesting that you get a bit of bleed-over from the other tracks. They must not have used 2" tape on an MCI machine... :)

how does one go about isolating a track like that? does it require studio access?

The best way is to have access to the original master recording, since the bass would most likely be on its own track. Otherwise, I've seen these that were made using a precise parametric equalizer set to only pass the frequency range of the instrument of interest, but those aren't usually so clean. Some kick drum might bleed into the bass guitar frequency range, for example.

This is what I was referring to. This Horowitz IG investigation was started in the last few days of the Obama administration. It was during this investigation that Horowitz discovered the Strzok/Page text messages. It later morphed into the FISA abuse investigation.

I base my statement on the known investigation posted at the OIG website. Horowitz is already investigating the FISA abuse scandal and the Steele dossier. Why would Mueller conduct a duplicate investigation?

Examination of the Department’s and the FBI’s Compliance with Legal Requirements and Policies in Applications Filed with the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Relating to a certain U.S. Person

The OIG, in response to requests from the Attorney General and Members of Congress, is examining the Department’s and the FBI’s compliance with legal requirements, and with applicable DOJ and FBI policies and procedures, in applications filed with the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) relating to a certain U.S. person. As part of this examination, the OIG is also reviewing information that was known to the DOJ and the FBI at the time the applications were filed from or about an alleged FBI confidential source. Additionally, the OIG is reviewing the DOJ’s and FBI’s relationship and communications with the alleged source as they relate to the FISC applications. If circumstances warrant, the OIG will consider including other issues that may arise during the course of the review.

I don't believe an internal DoJ IG investigation would take precedence over a counterintelligence investigation associated with foreign interference in a presidential election. For one thing, there are too many players who aren't current DoJ employees - including foreign governments. It's possible that it has to do with Huber's turf, which Sessions never specified in any detail publicly, but the question of why Mueller ignored the dossier remains open IMO.

Mueller didn’t ignore the Steele dossier. He explicitly ruled it was completely bogus and that finding was the fundamental basis for his exoneration of Trump. Determining if Trump colluded with the Russians was the scope of his investigation. The criminal activity of everyone involved in the FISA abuse scandal falls under the scope of the Horowitz/Huber investigation.

There's a lot more to the dossier than whether or not the DoJ broke the FISA rules, most of which is outside the jurisdiction of the IG.

That is why Sessions appointed Huber to work directly with Horowitz. BTW I think you have an incorrect perception about the mission of the Inspector General in federal/military organizations. The entire reason for their existence is to ensure their agency complies with all federal laws, policies, rules, SOPs etc. The FISA abuse scandal is 100% in the jurisdiction of the DOJ IG due to DOJ/FBI employees being the ones who broke all the laws.

I still am afraid. (Of them). And Omar and Tlaib don't make it any easier to accept their presence no matter how "legal" or legitimate it may have been. To me, it was unacceptable that you can elect people to Congress who do not accept our Judeo-Christian value system. I would hang both of them with AOC around the Dems necks in 2020.

According to Robert Mueller, a president can be guilty of obstruction of justice simply by exercising the powers of the president -- if he does so with "an intent to obtain an improper advantage for himself or someone else, inconsistent with official duty and the rights of others."

Wow. That's a new standard for a president's Article II powers! I don't see it in my pocket Constitution.

What Mueller is saying is that he should hold the position of supreme exalted master president to review all decisions made by the man who was elected to the office of president by mere voters.

Mueller can't say Trump obstructed justice. The investigation found no Russian "collusion," or related crimes, so there was no justice to obstruct. That's why there's nothing in the report about "perjury," "destroying evidence" or any other recognizable crime, like, say, "accepting a cash bribe."

Instead, Mueller proposes to review the decisions of the person duly elected president on a purity-of-motive standard. "An improper motive," the Mueller report states, "can render an actor's conduct criminal even when the conduct would otherwise be lawful and within the actor's authority."

Except the "actor" here is the president. We're not talking about the authority of a CEO or chief of police. We're talking about the U.S. president, whose "authority" comes directly from the Constitution.

If a special counsel is entitled to sit in judgment on a president's motives for exercising his constitutional powers, there will never be a president who is not under investigation for everything he does. Mueller is claiming that prosecutors and Congress have a right to probe the president's state of mind when he orders the 101st Airborne into action or nominates a new Supreme Court justice.

While we're at it, can the president convene a commission to investigate the motives of a member of Congress for voting a particular way? How about a Supreme Court justice? (I've been dying to get to the bottom of Justice Roberts' vote to uphold Obamacare.)

I'm fine with the new standard, provided it's retroactive and the punishment is death.

"To me, it was unacceptable that you can elect people to Congress who do not accept our Judeo-Christian value system."

In addition, it's unacceptable that we have Muslims elected to office who can use .. and are using ... taqiyya to undermine national security and the US Constitution while in Congress, sitting on sensitive security and intelligence committees.

You know how Leftists have preened on and on about how our military responses to Islamist terrorism have served as "recruitment tools" for jihadists?

WTF do you think having these Islamists in the Halls of Congress serve as?

They see how easy it is to manipulate us and use our "tolerance" against us to get our enemies into such critical positions.

Tom Bowler, I find that Google is pretty darn good at giving you the fastest route at any given time.

I would check it right before you leave (and keep checking as you drive, or let it navigate you, if that's possible). Construction, traffic and other delays will be factored in real time and it may reroute you.

Michele is less qualified to be POTUS than Barack was but if she gets into the race she wins the nomination easily IMO. If she does enter she will do it late in the process after the leftwing media successfully creates the narrative that none of the existing candidates can beat Trump and that only Michele is capable of saving the country from Trump.

Spoke to Saudi Arabia and others about increasing oil flow. All are in agreement. The California tax on gasoline is causing big problems on pricing for that state. Speak to your Governor about reducing. Economic numbers, 3.2% GDP for what is often worst quarter, looking good!

“Under my Administration, we will never surrender American sovereignty to anyone. We will never allow foreign bureaucrats to trample on your Second Amendment freedoms. And that is why my Administration will never ratify the UN Arms Trade Treaty.” pic.twitter.com/j1xnuUdX1x

"With God as our witness, we swear today that we will defend our rights, we will safeguard our freedoms, we will uphold our heritage, we will protect our Constitution, and we will make America stronger, prouder, safer and GREATER than ever before!” pic.twitter.com/IevpultrrE

One time we played a "lacquer" of previously unreleased Elvis Presley in our listening room at a show in Newport Beach. Brought the house down. News traveled fast and our room was packed rest of the show.

Chad brought it to our room because we had the "best" and there were only a few plays left on the LP.

He brought several bottles of wine too as I recall, but the evening ended up mostly "foggy":)

TB, We did lots of comparisons of Google and Waze when we were in DC--and Google did NOT have the info Waze did, even though they now own Waze.
My husband would check Google every time Waze routed us some way that seemed "strange", and since were in town, we could usually see down the street to the accident, or construction, or even just double parked truck that Google would have had us sitting behind.

"The California tax on gasoline is causing big problems on pricing for that state. Speak to your Governor about reducing."

Governor NewShoes has called for an "inquiry" over why gas prices are so high. ask any knowledgeable commuter and they can tell you, Gov.

the taxes passed on some bogus carbon law passed a few years back are INDEXED to increase automatically. add to that the 72 cent tax increase passed under MoonBitch, due to kick in next year, and GASP!, we'll never see gasoline under $5 again--- unless it is repealed. that would require a human body count of nearly every single dem in the legislature and executive mansion.

then there is the doofus refinery regulations out here. the goal is to take cars off the road.

so what do people eat when they can't get to work or are forced to saturate local employment markets to be able to work and not drive.

and what are all the illegal Mexxykin lawn care "perfayshunulz" gonna do to keep their weed wackers humming, their TOROS spinnin, and their unsmogged trucks running? how will all the illegal maid services taxi and ferry their illegal work crews into the tony neighborhoods to clean toilets? questions abound.

the "sovereign nation of California" will experience a recession while many parts of the country are in full-scale boom times. thanks Dhimmi-crats.

age old question to the commies in Sacramento: who dies first, you Italian loafered mthrfckrs?

Buckeye---- IF oxy-based pain mgt or morphine derivatives will be part of the pain mgt plan.... should you become ready to ease off them, KRATOM is a go-to herb that makes that a breeze. FYI. I'd mentioned it before.

My dad used to put dry ice in an empty paint can and tap the lid down semi-securely. He would slide the can under his sleeping supervisor's chair. After some time the expansion would blow the lid into the chair at high velocity.

BANG!!!

He said the lid would go 30' in the air if there wasn't a chair blocking it.

MM, Why do you suppose there's so much bitching? A lot of it is people's rice bowls and access and previous positions of respect are being shattered. Look at today's tales of the consultants living high on the failed fast train to nowhere..or remember what Janet and I said about the nincompoop millions layed out for nonsensical streetcars.

best wishes Buckeye, and speedy recovery.
As to Moochelle getting the nomination, be careful what you wish for--she is a formidable public speaker and the media has built her into quite the false idol.

Trees coming down around here again today.
We've got entire neighborhoods full of 80-100 year old shallow rooted oaks, and there is something about their current height and tree canopy (physics explains this, I am guessing ;-) ) that makes them fall with these wind gusts.

After I had that weird semi-stroke episode a year and a half ago, I am the same way.

Nothing showed up on the MRI or the other tests, and it might have been stress-related, but I am leery of writing off people with those conditions.

I just read an article yesterday about a woman in the UAe who had been in a coma after an accident for 27 years and suddenly woke up. She had thrown herself in front of her 4-tear old son to protect him and he had visited her in the nursing home several times a week. She woke up screaming his name, and he was 31!!!

How would a Democrat operative predict Manafort would be joining the Trump campaign 2-3 months before it actually happened?

In January 2016, Chalupa informed an unknown senior DNC official that she believed there was a Russian connection with the Trump campaign. Notably, this theme would be picked up by the Clinton campaign in the summer of 2016. Chalupa also told the official to expect Manafort’s involvement in the Trump campaign.

Ukrainian Lawmaker Admits in Recording That Government Agency Linked to Soros Was Helping Hillary Clinton in 2016 Election😡! Does anyone get the feeling THE WHOLE WORLD WAS HELPING 👇 WITCH and she still lost😲? You know and I know, Trump is Gods doing😎